A plane carrying approximately 10 tonnes of medical supplies donated by the United Arab Emirates arrived at the Fiumicino airport in Rome on Monday.

The United Arab Emirates is working in concert with international organisations to distribute aid globally, including China and Iran, in an effort to help fight the pandemic sweeping the world.

Italy has benefited enormously from international aid in recent weeks, with Russia and Cuba sending doctors to field hospitals within the country amid shortages of beds and personnel.

Though the United States and Spain have recently surpassed Italy in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, Italy has the highest death toll in the world with over 15,000 COVID-19 related deaths as of Monday.